Sherman d



(No Model.)

S. D.v HUBBARD.

HOE.

' Patented Aug. 23,1881.

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`UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SHERMAN D. HUBBARD, OF BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA.

HOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,954, dated August23, 1881.

Application filed April 30, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SHERMAN D. HUBBAED, of Beaver Falls, in the countyof Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usef'ulImprovement in Hoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description thereof.

ln the manufacture of solid-steel hoes it has been the custom to' formthe eye, which is set up in the blade, of a round or oval form. It isdesirable to secure in such a hoe a square eye, for the reason of thegreater security and better fasteningof the handle that is obtainedthereby; but the formation ot' the eye tends to weaken the hoe,especially in the square corners.

In order to secure the advantages of such an eye in such a hoe, I haveformed a hoe with a skirt or rel-enforcement of metal extending aroundthe square eye.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willnow describe its construction and manner of use by reference lo theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l. is a top View of my improvedhoe. Fig. 2 is an edge view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of anotherform, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 3.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

aindicates the blade of a solid-steel hoe, hava set-up eye, b, of squareform. Around the base of the eye b, I have made a skirt orre-enforcement of metal, c, which gives the requisite strength to theeye and enables me to obtain the advantages of a square eye in asolidsteel hoe.

(No model.)

If desired, the skirt c may be made thicker and heavier at the back, asshown in Fig 4, so that it shall constitute a knob or projection, g,which is useful in breaking clods and stones.

I am aware that a hoe having an oval eye integral with the blade andre-enforced by ribs at the projecting portions of the eye has here`-tofore been devised, and that in shearing the plate during themanufacture of such hoe a slight margin is, owing to the presence of therib, necessarily left projecting beyond the eye; but thesameisanincident ofconstruction llavingno special function in conjunction withan oval eye, Whereas the skirt, in its relation to the square eye, ismaterial as a support to the angles ofthe eye where ribs orre-enforcescannot be readily used.

Therefore I do not herein broadly claim a hoe having the circumferenceof its eye wholly within the margin of the blade; neither do I claim theconjunction of an oval eye and skirt; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Paten t,is,-

A solid-steel hoe having a square eye with walls of uniform thicknessand integral with the blade, and a flat skirt disposed at the base ofthe eye, substantially as specified, to support the angles of the eye,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

SHERMAN D. HUBBARD. t

Witnesses:

T. B. KEER, L. C. FITLEE.

